The race to secure a seat in what is arguably the most sought-after university in India, Delhi University (DU), begins with the first cut-off list, which is expected to come out on 27 June. While getting an admission in a DU college, particularly in North Campus, remains a dream for many students, but the sky-high cutoffs set by the colleges act as an obstacle for most
aspirants.
In spite of that, the university receives more than 2.5 lakh applications every year. The competition to get a seat in a reputed college of DU gets tougher every year. During this time of the year, the colleges of DU gets overwhelmed by huge waves of applications. To ease the admission procedure, this year DU came out with an online centralised application form for admissions as well as for certification process. Guardian 20 looks at some of the pitfalls of the online application form and the woes of the aspiring students.
17 -year-old, Nikita Goel scored 84% in class 12th this year but that might not be enough for her to get the course of her choice. She says, “I want a DU college. Any DU college. DU has no comparison and it’s very difficult to get admission here.” She is frustrated with the recent changes in the admission process, she says, “The online procedure is creating many problems. The owners of cyber cafes are charging between Rs 500 to 1,000 to fill a single form.” The urgency shown by the people present at these cyber cafes in filling the form, often result in some mistake or the other, much to the dismay of students.
It’s a known fact that the students who score above 92% have better chances to get the course or the college of their choice. Dr Suman Sharma, principal of Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR), says, “We have computers available in the college premises for students, so that they can fill admission forms right here.” LSR has been given a rating of 3.61, the highest grade by National Advisory Council (NAC), and a survey has ranked it as the number one college in liberal arts and humanities education. According to Dr Sharma, the administrative staff of LSR takes into account three key factors while considering the candidature of a student: DU guidelines, past cut-off lists and the profile of the student .
18-year-old Nikhil Deewan has scored 92% in boards this year. A science stream student from Poorna Prajna Public School has high hopes of attaining admission in DU. He says,“I want to do B Pharma and that too from DU only. I think DU is far better than any other university. DU has so much value not only in India but abroad too. Then, when it comes to placements, the chances to get placed are better. That’s why I want to go for a DU college.”
Some DU colleges had a separate registration procedure in past. But that has changed now. This year, there will be no separate registration for admission in colleges like St. Stephen’s and Jesus and Mary.
Due to the standards set by DU through its cut-off list, many students, in spite of doing fairly well in academics as well as in extra curricular activities, fail to get admission in DU colleges. The principal of Kirori Mal College, Dr Dinesh Khattar says, “An entrance exam procedure in the future would come as a relief for postgraduate students at least.” But securing a DU seat remains a rat race as usual. All other universities have different methods of allotting grades to students. Mostly, it’s on the basis of an entrance exam that students are admitted to different courses.
“The system of cut-offs in DU needs to be changed. Not all students can score 90% or 95% in boards. I am not sure, if I would be able to get an admission in a North Campus college”
Payal Yadav lives in Janakpuri, west Delhi. The 18-year-old, who has scored 89% in class 12th, says “The system of cut-offs in DU needs to be changed. Not all students can score 90% or 95% in boards. I am not sure, if I would be able to get an admission in a North Campus college or not.”
Delhi University’s Gargi College is the only women’s college in South Campus that offers education in all threestreams: sciences, commerce and arts, and also has a teacher training programme in Elementary Education. A group of aspirants at Gargi College who wish to pursue teaching tells Guardian20 that Gargi is the only option they have.
Gargi College is not only one of the most reputed women colleges of DU, but is also the only college in South Campus which offers teacher training programme.
The aim of education is to imbibe certain values in a person, to help him see things differently and also, to think critically. It broadens the horizon of a person, helps one develop intelligence plus character. Delhi University is seen as a place where most students dream to be due to a number of reasons. But when it comes to admissions here, it’s the survival of the fittest or rather it’s only the cream that gets admitted here. With only 600,00 undergraduate seats and 70 colleges, for a large chuck of aspirants who apply here, DU remains a distant dream. The reasons being limited seats and sky high cut-off lists.
One of the students of Delhi University, 20-year-old, Varnika Tyagi who lives in Gitorni talks about her college life and the admission race this year. She says,“It’s a thing of prestige and pleasure for me to be a DU student. I am doing BA in computer science from Dayal Singh College. I love the friendly atmosphere of my college. But getting an admission here was tough for me. Every year, students complain about the high cut-off lists of DU but nothing changes. Even I couldn’t get admission in the course of my choice due to the cut-offs.”
Many colleges of DU organises open house pre-admission council for students and parents to help them with admission related problems and confusions. There are trained volunteers, along with college staff and counselors to help students in fill up the forms properly and correctly. Swati Singh who has scored 82%, this year in boards, says “I’m going to attend all seminars of colleges to know more about them before making a decision.”
DU is first choice-university among most students not only for academic reasons alone but for a number of other reasons. Dr Sharma, principal of LSR tells Guardian 20, “We train our students in leadership qualities, encourage them to become concerned citizens and help them develop critical thinking.”